Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 253 errands
In the duty room of the State-owned Enterprise Department, Lai Shangrong was still thinking about it.

However, after tossing back and forth a few times, he seemed a little listless in the morning, so instead of going to the Yantie Division, he ran to the State Operations Division to hide and relax.

I secretly made up my mind that this kind of indulgence can only be done occasionally, but it still needs to be restrained and follow the path of sustainable development.

Ah!
Next time, just wait for Jia Zhen and Jia Rong's first Qi, and just come on every Qi.

Just when I was thinking about whether there was something or not, I heard a rapid knock on the door.

"My lord, a father-in-law has come to the palace."

...I hid in the State Administration Department, but there was no way I could hide.

Lai Shangrong opened the door and went out with a slightly conceited step.

"Ouch! Master Lai, I found you, hurry up and enter the palace with the miscellaneous family!"

Eunuch Zhou was an old acquaintance, and Lai Shangrong's secret documents were entrusted to him to submit to the emperor.

"Eunuch, wait a moment!"

Lai Shangrong ordered his subordinates to get a basin of cold water to refresh themselves.

"Master Lai, are you working on state affairs every day?"

Eunuch Zhou asked as he followed Zhou Rengui into the palace to meet the saint.

It is obviously inappropriate to talk about a romantic affair in front of the eunuch, Lai Shangrong could only make a mistake and nodded.

"The emperor's kindness is mighty, the two yamen and the firearms factory must do it by themselves, and Lai does not dare to slack off!"

"Lord Lai is young and promising, the emperor is afraid that he will add burden to you again."

"Oh?"

Lai Shangrong was quite helpless because he was not promoted because of the heavy burden. Eunuch Zhou didn't tell him, so he couldn't make random inquiries. Anyway, he would find out when he met the emperor.

All the way to Linjing Hall.

I saw Xiao Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and another forty-something official in Hanlin uniform in the hall. In terms of charm, he was somewhat similar to Jia Zheng.

"My emperor..."

Before Lai Shangrong could salute, Emperor Zhenglong raised his hand and said: "I love you, no courtesy!"

Lai Shangrong is not without knees, so he is naturally unwilling to kneel if he can avoid it.

He raised his hands to the Minister of Rites and said, "Old Xiao Ge! This..."

"I have relied on you for a long time. I am the young minister of Honglu Temple, Mei Gong."

Mei Gong only slightly bowed her hand to Lai Shangrong without showing any warm expression.

Mei Gong, Mei Hanlin?Could it be the Mei family who was engaged to Xue Baoqin?
He was very familiar with Mei Hanlin's name, but it was not because he knew about his achievements in the corruption case of the Camp and Repair Department, but because Xue Baoqin came to Beijing to fulfill his engagement with the Mei family.

It’s just that I haven’t had the opportunity to see him.

After the corruption case in the Camp and Maintenance Department was over, the emperor transferred Mei Gong from the Ministry of Works.

The Shaoqing of Honglu Temple was a fifth-rank official, which was one level higher than the fifth-rank official from the Ministry of Works. Moreover, he was transferred from the Ministry of Works to a noble yamen like the Ministry of Rites. Lai Shangrong had to lament that the speed of promotion in the Imperial Academy was much faster than his own. There is still more than that.

Just as he was sighing at the speed of the Imperial Academy's rise, Emperor Zhenglong said straight to the point: "Ai Qing has arrived just in time. The Western Yi delegation has arrived in Beijing. I plan to ask you to assist Mr. Xiao Ge in the peace talks with the Western Yi."

"Weichen has no negotiation experience..."

Negotiating a job like this is purely thankless. There are always people who can stand up and talk without hurting their backs and can attack you from 360 degrees. Lai Shangrong also comes from a bad background and is more likely to be criticized, so he hides and hides whenever he can.

In particular, Daxia suffered a defeat in the Qianxiang Kingdom, and negotiations were even more difficult.

"It doesn't matter. I heard that Xiyi is focusing on business. You have a lot of experience in economics. I would like to help you and give me some advice."

As he spoke, he took out a volume of documents, handed it to Xia Shouzhong, and handed it to Lai Shangrong.

"This is a document handed over by Xi Yi. I have already had someone translate it. You can take a look first."

Lai Shangrong unfolded the document.

"Honorable Emperor of Great Xia: In order to express your sincerity for peace and our respect for this negotiation, we propose that you immediately release: Sir Jack Hastings's son, Sir John...

We have always advocated free trade. Many of your measures have seriously infringed on the commercial freedom of our merchants. You should immediately stop these inappropriate measures and...

Great Britain..."

The whole discussion was about what you wanted, and Lai Shangrong was very angry.

It's just that if we can't win on the battlefield, everything is equal to zero. If we negotiate based on this, we will be nailed to the shame rack of history.

Hey, no!

What's going on with that knight's son?

"Your Majesty! What happened to this prisoner?"

"Oh! This is one of the generals captured by Zhou Qiong, the commander-in-chief of Zhenhai, who was invaded by the Western Barbarians when they invaded our coast of the West Sea. He kept shouting that he was the son of a poisonous official sent by the Western Barbarians. Zhou Qiong did not dare to He handled it without authorization and escorted the person to the capital."

After fighting for a long time, there was a win or loss, and Lai Shangrong breathed a sigh of relief.

He smiled and said: "Your Majesty, Xiyi has always paid attention to the title. I think this knight has a high status, so he can use his son as a bargaining chip."

Xiao Yu scolded: "We, the great country of China, are supposed to educate foreign barbarians. How could we act so badly and use the son of man as a bargaining chip for blackmail... This is really not what a great country would do!"

Lai Shangrong suddenly had a big head and two big heads. It is strange that he can talk well with such a clean and civilized official.

Talking about benevolence and righteousness with the West is not playing the piano to an ox?
Thinking of this, I suddenly had a plan.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Ge, I don't know. The Western Yi people have always paid attention to the bloodline and title of the nobles. Unlike our dynasty, which has an imperial examination system for promotion of children from poor families. Although Mr. Ge is an important official in the court, the Western Yi people do not know the importance and will make mistakes. I think the imperial court does not pay attention to this negotiation. Although Xiyi is a barbarian country, if you feel that we are disrespectful..."

Xiao Yu flicked his sleeves and robe, bowed to Emperor Zhenglong and saluted, feigning anger and said: "If your Majesty has a suitable candidate, I will abdicate in favor of someone worthy of my honour!"

He is not a fool either. Although he captured several generals, he was completely defeated in Qianxiang Country. Those high-sounding words before were just because he didn't know the root cause, and he was afraid of Lai Shangrong's nonsense. The more hopeful the emperor was about the outcome of the negotiation, the more disappointed he would be. .

As the Minister of Rites, he couldn't shirk it, but Lai Shangrong happened to give him the opportunity to follow the trend.

"Mr. Xiao Ge, please don't misunderstand. Lai Aiqing is only stating the truth. Why don't we listen to what he has to say first."

Xiao Yu said righteously: "As the minister of the Ministry of Rites, it would be a crime for me to let the barbarians from the foreign countries look down upon our heavenly kingdom. I hope that your majesty will choose someone else. However, after all, the peace talks are a major matter for the country, and I, the Ministry of Rites, have no shirk, so let Mei Shaoqing, please help me from the side!"

"This..." Emperor Zhenglong looked at Lai Shangrong hesitantly and said, "In your opinion, who is the right person to appoint as the chief officer of the peace talks?"

He did not agree to Xiao Yu's resignation and planned to listen to Lai Shangrong's thoughts before making a decision.

Lai Shangrong never thought that the emperor would ask for his opinion. He simply wanted to replace Xiao Yu.

However, there are many corrupt officials in the imperial court. If we change the soup without changing the medicine, we will be shooting ourselves in the foot.

Not to mention, after thinking about it, he really thought of a candidate.

"Wei Chen believes that Prince Zhongshun is the emperor's younger brother and the prince of our Great Xia Dynasty, so he deserves this position!"

"Huh?" Emperor Zhenglong hesitated.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yu hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I also think it is appropriate. Since Xiyi regards title as the most respected thing, the prince's status is naturally enough."

"Since Mr. Xiao Ge also thinks it's appropriate, let him be the chief officer!"

The reason why Lai Shangrong proposed King Zhongshun was because he was mercenary and shameless, and it was indeed very suitable to negotiate with Xiyi. When the time came, he would assist him and use some tricks...

Thinking of this, I remembered that I hadn't even asked the emperor what the negotiation wanted to achieve.

"I wonder what the court wants from this negotiation?"

"Of course we want the Western Yi to withdraw from the Qianxiang Kingdom!" Xiao Yu said confidently.

The emperor's golden words had allowed him to get out of the negotiating position, so of course he started to speak loudly.

Fortunately, the emperor did not intend to embarrass them, and sighed: "It would be best to let the Xiyi retreat or cease the war, but the Qianxiang country is high and the road is far away, and the imperial court does not intend to go to war with the Xiyi for the Qianxiang country. The rest of you are with Zhongshun The king will discuss it and draw up some terms. I and the ministers will discuss it after reading it!"

Speaking of this, he paused and said: "It's just that we should fight for it. After all, the Qianxiang Mission has to participate in it, so we can't chill the hearts of the vassal state."

(End of this chapter)